Korean youth sleep out in the cold by a statue memorializing sexual slavery

SEOUL — Each night on a street of the South Korean capital, college students slide into their sleeping bags and hunker down for the night in subzero temperatures.

They're not homeless; they are making a statement. For more than a month, they have been sleeping rough to protest the Japanese government’s calls for the removal of a statue that memorializes thousands of Korean “comfort women” forced into prostitution by the Japanese empire.

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A student protesting by the statue.

Image: Douglas Vautour

Banners put up to appeal to the South Korean government.

Image: Douglas Vautour

The monument, which depicts a Korean teenage girl, was erected in 2011 in response to Japan’s refusal to meet the demands of the surviving women, who now number just 46, for a sincere apology and restitution.

Japan objects to its location across the street from the permanent site of its embassy, which has been temporarily relocated. Since reaching a deal with Seoul to address the grievances of the surviving victims, it has stepped up calls for its removal.

“The situation is that there is plenty of talk in the Korean and Japanese governments about the possibility of removing the statue,” Park Yoo-mi, a 22-year-old Arabic major, told Mashable on her third sleep out. “We can’t trust our government now so we are here.”

Image: Douglas Vautour

Park said that she hadn’t been able to learn about the issue properly at school and expressed concern that people would forget about the women if the monument was removed.

“The monument to the comfort women is a symbol,” said Park. “The grandmothers are still living, and because they are very old and their condition is impossible to predict, I think this problem is very urgent.”

Park Yoo-mi by the statue.

Image: Douglas Vautour

A group of students who have been camping out.

Image: Douglas Vautour

Historians have estimated that as many as several hundred thousand Korean and other mostly Asian women were forcibly recruited to brothels across the continent before and during World War II.

In December, South Korea and Japan reached a landmark deal that both sides hailed as a resolution of the issue, which has been a persistent thorn in relations. The agreement included an apology from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and an offer of more than $8 million to establish a foundation for the surviving victims.

South Korea did not specifically agree to removing the statue, but promised to try to address Japan’s concerns around it. Soon afterward, Japanese government sources said that no money would be paid out while the statue remained at its present location.

Aside from the statue controversy, surviving comfort women and activists have criticized South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye and her government for agreeing to a deal in which Japan does not admit legal responsibility.

“There are a lot of examples of bad conduct by the government,” said Cha Eun-gyeong, an 18-year-old high school student who joined the college students.

“As students showing our sincerity, we thought if we first acted the country might change and we came out here.”

Image: Douglas Vautour

The protesting students draw from a wide pool of recruits and took turns sleeping on the street in 24-hour shifts. Despite temperatures that recently dipped to a bone-chilling -18 degrees Celsius, they have few complaints.

“Many people and groups around the country have sent hand warmers and other things and supported us so we have become comfortable,” said Park.

When asked what was the hardest part of their protest, Park’s answer had nothing to do with the weather or the comforts of home.

“The biggest hardship is the current government,” she said. “The Park Geun-hye government is the biggest burden!”

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